A.J. McCarron gets first snap for Alabama

Don't call him the starter. But redshirt sophomore A.J. McCarron would seem to have leg up in the neck-and-neck quarterback race at Alabama after taking the Tide's first snap against Kent State.

Both McCarron and redshirt freshman Phillip Sims were announced as starters by the Bryant-Deny Stadium PA, prolonging the drama of the de facto No. 1a quarterback all the way up to the Tide's first series of the season.

Nick Saban said this week that both quarterbacks would play three series at a time, with the player who performs better against the Golden Flashes likely getting the official nod for next week's trip to Penn State. That player has long believed to have been McCarron, who appeared in all 13 games in 2010 and threw 48 passes, completing 30.

But Saban has refused to give either candidate even the slightest of edges this offseason, with both quarterbacks splitting snaps almost exactly evenly in the Tide spring game.

McCarron completed his first pass and his first series ended in a touchdown as the Tide are up 7-0 with 10:22 to play in the first quarter.